A plan to unite struggling Brooklyn hospitals into a unified system is finally coming to fruition.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo confirmed Wednesday that the $700 million he set aside to transform healthcare in the borough will go to One Brooklyn Health, a partnership of Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, Interfaith Medical Center and Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center.
LaRay Brown, currently president and CEO of Interfaith, will serve as chief executive of One Brooklyn Health.
"This holistic investment creates a sustainable, unified healthcare system to empower historically underserved communities, support health and wellness, and ensure a brighter future for the people of Brooklyn," Cuomo said in a statement.
Wednesday's announcement firmed up details of the plan, which Northwell Ventures first proposed in a 2016 report commissioned by the state.
Of the $700 million, $224 million will be used to develop a 32-site ambulatory-care network that Cuomo said will create 255 jobs and bring an additional 300 primary-care physicians to central Brooklyn. The system will partner with community health centers, including Bedford-Stuyvesant Family Health Center, ODA Crown Heights, Brightpoint Health and the Brownsville Multi-Service Family Health Center.
One Brooklyn will invest an additional $384 million in the infrastructure of member hospitals, carving out clinical niches for each.
Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center will undergo the most drastic change. The hospital will be converted from an inpatient facility into a medical village with a mix of outpatient, emergency and post-acute care services. Brookdale, meanwhile, will increase its inpatient capacity by 100 beds and undergo renovations supporting its role as a regional trauma center.
Interfaith will update its emergency department and develop a psychiatric emergency program to support the integration of behavioral health and primary care.
The hospitals have reserved $142 million of the $384 million to support additional capital projects.
Finally, the system will invest $70 million in a new health information technology system linking the three hospitals and other providers in One Brooklyn Health.
In its report, Northwell estimated that the state's support to the three hospitals and Wyckoff Heights Medical Center would rise to $405 million by fiscal 2021 without restructuring. In the five years ending in 2021, the cumulative support to just those four facilities would be $1.8 billion. Northwell recommended that a unified system include Wyckoff, but that hospital ultimately opted out of the deal.
"New Brooklyn health system forms with $700M cash infusion from Cuomo" originally appeared in Crain's New York Business.
